


a million lyrics (running through my brain)

by juliathephantom (knitsessed)



Series: Soulmate AUs [2]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alina from Some Things Are Meant To Be, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Jukebox, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates, Telepathy, but wasn't fatal, i'm reusing my own oc, juke, obviously, regina - Freeform, soulmate au where you can hear your soulmate's conversations, the hot dog incident is just super bad food poisoning, willex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:53:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29390106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knitsessed/pseuds/juliathephantom
Summary: Once you're both eighteen, you can hear your soulmate's conversations. Julie and Luke are soulmates. This is fluff.Title from I Got The Music (if you don't know the song, what are you doing looking at this fic?)
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)/Original Character(s), Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)/Original Female Character(s), Reggie Peters/ Alina
Series: Soulmate AUs [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2188602
Comments: 33
Kudos: 122





	1. Telepathy

**Author's Note:**

> For the sake of clarity, italicized speech is conversations heard via the soulmate bond. Bolded text is phone communication.

Luke has been pissed off for years. It’s been over three years since his eighteenth birthday, but he still hasn’t heard his soulmate. What was taking the universe so long? Why did his soulmate have to be younger than him?

Then, though, on the morning of May 4th, he wakes up unnecessarily early (it’s before ten in the morning, so it’s unnecessarily early) to someone singing loudly and terribly.  _ “Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Julie, happy birthday to you!” _

Luke’s eyes widen when he realizes what that means. He runs out of his bedroom, still in his pajamas, to go find his friends. Luke bursts into the kitchen where Reggie, Alex, and Alex’s soulmate, Willie, are eating breakfast.

“Guys, I need you to start talking.”

Everyone looks at him like he’s grown another head. Alex is the first to speak. 

“Why?” He asks slowly.

“It’s her birthday. Her name is Julie.”

“Luke, what’s your phone number?” Willie asks, though he’s had it in his phone since about two days after Alex’s birthday.

“Thank you,” Luke gasps out. He rattles off his phone number, then waits impatiently.

He hears a voice in his head having a conversation with someone.

_ “Papí, can you hand me a piece of paper and a pen?” _

_ “Sure, mija. Can I ask why?” _

_ “Just hang on. I need to write something down. Papí, what’s Luke’s phone number?” _

Luke grins. “Willie, can you read back the number you wrote down? I want to make sure you got it right.”

Willie obligingly says Luke’s number.

Luke can hear his soulmate’s conversation with her father continue.

_ “Mija, is Luke your soulmate? Can you hear him?” _ The man’s voice continues.

_ “Yeah. This is his phone number. Should I call or FaceTime the first time?” _

_ “You should call him. FaceTime is Apple-specific. What if he has an android phone?” _

_ “Right. Can you give me some space?” _

Luke’s phone rings then. He answers it before the second ring. “Julie? You’re real?”

The girl on the other end laughs, a light, happy sound that Luke instantly wants to hear again.

**“I’m real. Why do you sound so surprised?”**

“I’m not super patient.” Luke sighs. “I’m twenty-one and I was kind of starting to think that you didn’t exist.”

**“Well, I definitely exist. Your friend or whoever said your name is Luke, right?”**

“Yeah, Luke Patterson. I was talking to my bandmate’s soulmate, Willie. He and Alex and our other bandmate, Reggie, all live in a house together.”

**“You’re in a band? What do you play?”**

“I’m our lead singer and guitarist. Do you play any instruments?”

**“Yeah, piano. I can kind of play the guitar, but not, like, well.”**

“Cool! I’d love to hear you play sometime. Oh, happy birthday, by the way!”

Julie giggles.  **“Thanks. Where do you live? Maybe if you’re not too far away, you could come over to my mom’s studio sometime. It’s not, like, the middle of the night for you, is it?”**

“No, I’m in LA. Your mom has a studio?”

**“Had. She’ll have been dead three years in August.”**

“Oh, Julie, I’m so sorry. That must have been so hard.”

**“Don’t be sorry. You didn’t know. How could you have? Anyway, I’m in LA, too. Los Feliz.”**

“Oh, wow, I’m in Los Feliz, too!”

**“Awesome! Um, my dad is throwing me a party tonight, if you want to come? You can bring your friends if you want.”**

“I’d love to. Text me the address?”

**“Yeah, absolutely! Arrive around six? We’re grilling, so don’t eat dinner.”**

“Sure thing, boss.” Luke frowns when he hears someone yelling Julie’s name. “Do you have to go?”

**“Papí says breakfast is ready. He always makes me cinnamon rolls for my birthday and they’re best fresh out of the oven. Can I talk to you later, though?”**

Luke grins. “Of course! Also, cinnamon rolls sound incredible. I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

**“Okay, bye!”**

Luke says goodbye, then jumps up and throws his fist up in the air. “Yes! Finally!”

His friends laugh. 

“Happy?” Reggie asks.

“So happy. You guys wanna come to her birthday party tonight? Apparently, they’re grilling.”

“Sure, why not?” Alex decides. Willie and Reggie agree, so Luke grins. “Should we bring anything, you think?”

_ “Papí, my soulmate and a couple of his friends are coming to the party tonight. Should they bring anything?” _

_ “No, I think we have everything. How many people is he bringing, though? Do I need to get extra food?” _

“So, we’ll be four more people. Do you think Julie’s dad should get more food?” Luke asks the guys, who shrug, not knowing how much food has already been obtained.

_ “It’s four more people. What do you think?” _

_ “I’m going to get another pack of hot dogs, I think. Better to be safe.” _

“Should I tell Julie that Willie’s the only one of us who would even consider eating a hot dog?” Luke smiles at Reggie and Alex’s looks of horror.

“Oh, god. You have to tell her. We- there is no power on this earth that would make me eat a hot god. I mean, a burger? Sure. It’s not like we’re vegetarians, but after that food poisoning incident?” Reggie is rambling, but Luke is distracted by the voices in his head.

_ “Papí, don’t get hot dogs. Something about trauma due to food poisoning? Get burgers instead.” _

Luke’s phone buzzes with a text. It’s a picture of a cinnamon roll with a lit candle stuck in the center. Another text pops up.  **Jealous?**

Luke grins.  **Totally** , he replies. He contemplates what to say next, then sends a recent selfie.  **So you recognize me when I show up at your party.**

His phone buzzes again.  **So you know who to look for.** The picture that accompanies the text has his jaw dropping. The girl in the photo has light brown skin, dark brown curls, and the most beautiful brown eyes. She’s smiling at the camera and Luke desperately wants that smile to be for him.

“Oh, my god,” he breathes, astounded.

“Is everything okay?” Alex asks.

“She’s gorgeous.”

Another message pops up. It’s an address and instructions to just head around to the backyard when they get there.


	2. The Party

Luke arrives at his soulmate’s house at exactly 6 PM. Well, technically, he’d arrived at 5:30, parked a block away, then waited in his car for half an hour so that he wouldn’t be weirdly early. Alex, Reggie, and Willie show up in Alex’s car about a minute after Luke approaches the house, parking right near the house. They follow Luke around the house, encountering a boy who looks like he’s about ten, two girls holding cans of soda, and a man flipping burgers on the grill.

“Hey, Luke, which one is she?” Reggie whispers loudly.

The girls giggle and Luke sighs. “Neither of them.” Louder, he says, “Um, hi. I’m Luke, uh, Julie’s soulmate? Am I in the right place?”

The door to the house flies open and Julie comes rushing out, tying off the end of a braid. Luke sighs in relief.  
“Is that her?” Willie asks. Julie sees Luke, then, and bites her lip.

“Yeah, that’s her.” 

Luke just stands there, gaping at her. She’s even more beautiful in person than she is in the picture she’d sent him, and he doesn’t know how to approach her. Julie seems uncertain of how to proceed, as well, so they just stare awkwardly at each other until one of the girls, the one with box braids, groans, walking up behind Julie and shoving her forward.

“Julie, seriously? Just go up to him and say hi. Then introduce me so I can give him the best friend speech.”

Julie sighs, walking up to Luke and holding out a hand. He takes it, squeezing softly, and Julie smiles. “Hi, Luke. I’m Julie. Nice to meet you.”

“Hi, Julie. You’re beautiful.” Luke feels his face heat up. “I did not mean to say that. I mean, it’s true, I meant it, but, like, I was supposed to just think it, not actually say it.”

Julie giggles and her friends are laughing. So are the guys, Luke notices.

“Well, thank you. Um, I guess I should introduce you to everyone?” Julie leads him forward, still holding his hand. “Um, so Ms. Pushy over there is Flynn, and the blonde one is Carrie. That’s my dad, Ray, and my brother, Carlos. Guys, this is Luke, my soulmate.”

“Nice to meet you, Luke,” Ray says. “Who are your friends?”

“Oh, um, this is Reggie, Alex, and Alex’s soulmate, Willie.” The guys wave.

Julie lets go of Luke’s hand and hugs Willie. “Thank you.”

Willie looks confused but hugs her back. “For what?”

“You’re the one that Luke was talking to this morning, right? The one who figured out what to say so that I could get his phone number?”

Willie grins. “Yeah, that was me. You’re welcome.”

When Julie turns back to Luke, he’s pouting. “You hugged Willie before me!”

Julie laughs, wrapping Luke up in a big hug. “Happy?”

He grins into her hair. “Beyond.”

Ray interrupts by announcing that the burgers are done. Everyone lines up in front of the grill to receive plates with burgers in their buns. They then migrate into what Luke had assumed was a garage but is actually the studio space Julie had mentioned on the phone and Luke’s jaw drops.

“Whoa, this place is incredible!”

Luke assembles his burger with the condiments on the folding table set up under the loft, then adds a bunch of chips to his plate. He grabs a Sprite and turns to find Julie. He sees her sitting on the couch with the girls, Carrie and Flynn, he remembers.

Carrie is gushing quietly to Julie about how cute Luke is and he chuckles. Reggie, who’s standing next to Luke, looks at him oddly.

“Julie’s friend thinks I’m cute,” Luke explains.

_ “Hey, Carrie, you do remember that Luke can hear everything you’re saying, right?” _ Julie reminds her friend. It’s odd because he can hear the conversation both in his head and, more faintly, with his ears and he’s just grateful that there’s no lag either way. The words are completely in sync.

_ “Well, if we can’t talk about him, tell him to come over here so we can interrogate him,”  _ Flynn says.

Luke takes that as his cue to go over to the girls. The couch they’re sitting has just enough room for Luke to squeeze in next to Julie, which he does.

“So, Luke. As Julie’s best friends, we are legally obligated to make sure you’re good enough for her,” Carrie declares.

Julie rolls her eyes. “And being soulmates doesn’t tell you that?”

Reggie, who had followed Luke over and taken a seat on the wicker chair perpendicular to the couch, frowns. “It actually really doesn’t. My parents are soulmates, but I honestly can’t remember them ever not fighting.”

Julie winces. “I’m sorry, Reggie. That’s rough. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I mean, it sucked growing up but I always had the guys. Luke and Alex didn’t have the best home life, either, so we became our own family, and now I’ve cut off contact with my parents. I’m determined to be a better soulmate to my Alina than my parents were to each other, so hopefully the past won’t repeat itself.”

“I’m sure it won’t. Also, Luke, why didn’t you ask me if Reggie could bring Alina? Like, she would have been more than welcome!” Julie nudges Luke with her shoulder.

Luke holds his hands up defensively. “Alina’s not in town! She went home to Wisconsin for her grandma’s funeral. Reggie would’ve gone, too, but it was super last minute and the plane tickets were crazy expensive and she wouldn’t let him spend that much money.”

“Can we get back to our interrogation?” Flynn asks.

“You mean, ‘can we start our interrogation,’ Flynn. We haven’t even asked a single question.”

Flynn concedes to that. “First question. What do you do?”

“What do you mean? Like, as a job?”

“So you’re not in school?” Carrie clarifies.

“No, I graduated high school three years ago and now I’m working at a record store while trying to make the band get noticed.”

“What’s your band called?” Flynn asks.

“Sunset Curve.”

“Tell your friends,” Reggie interjects.

‘How old are you?” is Carrie’s next question.

“I turned twenty-one in March.”

Flynn takes a turn to ask a question. “Would you buy us and/or Julie alcohol?”

Luke frowns. “Absolutely not.”

“Good.” Flynn grins. “What are your intentions with our friend?”

Luke looks uncomfortable at that. “Um, I literally just met her today, so my intentions with Julie are currently to get to know her. I did have a... not exactly a plan, but a dream, I guess, for what life with my soulmate would look like, though, if you want to hear that?”

Julie raises her hand. “I would like to hear that,” she points out.

“Um, so I’d always hoped that you’d be musical and could join the band, so I guess my dream was just to, like, play sold-out shows with my family- that would be my soulmate and the guys- and travel the world. Maybe eventually get married? Mostly, I just wanted to wake up everyday with my soulmate and go to sleep in a new city every night, with the guys and my soulmate as my constants.”

Julie smiles softly at Luke. “That’s really sweet.”

Ray, who had come in after turning off the grill at the start of Luke’s depiction of the future he wants, gets the group’s attention. “Mija, why don’t you play something for us?”

Alex and Willie, who had been sitting on the floor on the other side of the coffee table, perk up. Luke, though, lights up like the sun.

“Yeah, play something, Julie!” Luke’s smile means that even if Julie had wanted to refuse, she wouldn’t be able to.

“What should I play?” Julie asks, walking over to the piano.

“Play Wake Up,” Carrie requests.

“Sure, Carrie.” Julie starts playing the first notes then stops. “Fair warning, I generally start crying when I play this song, so don’t freak out, okay?”

She resumes playing and Luke’s jaw drops when she starts singing. He’s staring at her like she’s the only person in the world and she feels her cheeks heat at the attention. As the last notes fade, Luke comes over to sit next to her on the bench.

“That was incredible, Julie. Your voice, it’s like a wrecking ball!”

“Is that a good thing?” Julie asks.

“It’s a great thing. Please join the band?” 

Julie looks at Alex and Reggie to make sure they’re okay with it. They nod, so Julie sighs.

“I haven’t even heard you guys play! I don’t want to commit to a band that I’ve never heard before.”

Luke digs out his phone from his pocket. “We’re on Youtube. We can show you our songs?”

He queues up Now or Never and hits play, angling the screen so that Julie can see them perform. She grins.

“You guys are really good.”

“Is that a yes?” Luke asks hopefully.

“Sure.” 

He whoops at her words, pulling her up from the piano bench and yanking her into a hug, spinning her around.

“Yes!” 

The party winds down shortly after that, Carrie driving Flynn home and the guys leaving, too. Luke pouts when he has to leave Julie, but the promise of texts gets him to go.


	3. High School

The whole time Luke was waiting to hear Julie’s conversations after his eighteenth birthday, he failed to consider what it would actually be like. He hated high school with a passion, and now, with Julie in class a couple of days after her birthday, he’s once again bemoaning being subject to hearing her classes. The only saving grace is that she’s in the music program at her school, so a lot of her classes talk about music.

_ “Julie,”  _ someone addresses his soulmate, catching Luke’s attention.  _ “You’re up.” _

Up? For what? Luke hadn’t been paying much attention to Julie’s surroundings and kind of regrets it when he realizes it’s her performance class.

_ “Okay, so this is a new song I wrote. It’s called Neon Lights and it’s for my soulmate, so I really hope he’s not blocking right now.” _ Luke can hear some people chuckling, but is too focused on the song that Julie starts playing.  _ “ _ _ Baby when they look up at the sky/ We'll be shooting stars just passing by/ You'll be coming home with me tonight/ We'll be burning up like neon lights...” _

Alex, who happens to also have the day off and be in the apartment, is surprised when Luke grabs his wrist as he passes by.

“Alex, I need you to talk.”

“What’s up?” Alex asks.

“Julie wrote me a song and she played it for her performance class and it’s amazing! It’s called Neon Lights and it’s so incredible and she’s just perfect and I need her to know all of this. And now I need to sing for her, so stay here.” Luke grabs his guitar from next to him on the couch.

“‘I've tried playin' it cool/ But when I'm lookin' at you/I can't ever be brave/'Cause you make my heart race/Shot me out of the sky/You're my kryptonite/You keep making me weak/ Yeah, frozen, and can't breathe/Something's gotta give now/'Cause I'm dying just to make you see/That I need you here with me now/'Cause you've got that one thing/So get out, get out, get out of my head/And fall into my arms instead/I don't, I don't, don't know what it is/But I need that one thing, and/You've got that one thing...’”

Julie was the last performer for the day, so the class has a few minutes to relax before the bell. She grabs Flynn’s arm and turns her so that they’re facing each other. 

_ “Flynn, is Luke asking me out?” _ Luke hears in his head.

“Alex, how is it not clear with that song that I’m asking Julie out?”

Luke hears Julie gasp.  _ “Oh, my god, Flynn, he is! I have to answer him, right? How do I say yes?” _

Luke grins, doing a little happy dance. “Alex, she said yes!”

Alex sighs. “Of course she did. She’s your soulmate, dude. Also, I really wish I’d gotten that dorky happy dance on video.”

Luke hears Julie, Carrie, and Flynn gush about Julie’s date. He likes hearing how excited Julie is, but then her next class is Calculus and Luke winces. He hates math with a burning passion and therefore decides to block for a while.

Blocking is one of the things Luke is grateful for regarding the soulmate connection. He can hear every conversation Julie has, but he can also, like, opt out for a bit, making it possible for her to have private conversations (and for him to not have to listen to a Calculus lecture).

The rest of Julie’s school day passes quickly, and as soon as she’s done, they’re on the phone, talking.

**“When are we going out?”** Julie asks.

Luke grins. “I was thinking I’d pick you up tonight?”

**“I like that idea. Where are we going?”**

“I was thinking we could make playlists of our favorite songs and drive around, listening to them? Show each other songs we like?”

**“That sounds fun, but I have a better idea. We hang out at my house and do that, so that you don’t have to drive.”**

“Why wouldn’t I want to drive? I like driving.”

**“Because we can’t snuggle if you’re driving.”**

Luke agrees with the change of plans instantly. “Yeah, okay, good point. Your house it is. What time should I come over?”

**“I don’t have a ton of homework so I should be done by five?”**

Luke pouts. “That’s two whole hours!”

**“It’ll be longer if I don’t start now...”**

“Hanging up now, bye!” Luke hears Julie chuckle as he takes his phone away from his ear to hang up.

When it’s finally time for Luke’s date with Julie, he rings the doorbell upon arrival. Ray answers it, an amused smile on his face.

“I didn’t even realize the doorbell worked,” Ray comments.

“Apparently, it does. Julie and I were going to hang out tonight. Can I come in?” Ray steps back to let Luke in, revealing Julie on the stairs.

“Hi, Luke!” Julie’s obvious excitement at his presence warms his heart.

“Hi, Julie. I brought my laptop so that we could both be logged in to Spotify at once. Where do you want to go?”

Julie grabs Luke’s hand and tugs him up the stairs.

“Have fun, mija,” Ray says as they depart. “But not too much fun.”

Julie huffs at the cliche line. “Papí, this is our first date. Do you really think I’d do anything that you’re worried about on the first date?” Ray concedes to that. 

Arriving in Julie’s room, Luke looks around. It’s bright and airy, with drapey fabrics hanging from the ceiling and pillows everywhere. The colorful room screams Julie and Luke loves it. Julie grabs her laptop from the floor poof at the foot of her bed, then climbs onto the bed. She leans her back against the headboard and pats the space next to her.

“No shoes on the bed,” Julie warns as Luke sets his backpack on the floor, pulling out his laptop. He toes off his shoes, then settles next to Julie on the bed, legs sprawled out in front of him.

They each pull Spotify up on their laptops and take turns playing songs. Luke’s favorites are more rock than pop and Julie’s are more pop than rock, but they find themselves adding each others’ favorites to their own playlists. It’s then that Julie has a genius idea.

“We should make a playlist together! Like, to play in the car or while we snuggle or... anytime, really.”

“Yes! I love that idea.” Julie creates a new playlist on her Spotify and immediately adds all of Sunset Curve’s songs to it. “You like our music that much?”

“Of course! You guys are really good.”

“Do you have anything on Spotify?” Luke asks.

Julie grins, pulling up all of her songs. Luke takes her laptop from her and adds all of her songs.

“Aw, thanks.” They go back and forth suggesting songs to add to their playlist until it’s over eight hours long, at which point Julie calls it. “Let’s just listen, now?”

Luke agrees, so Julie hits play, then sets her laptop aside. Luke tucks her close, under his arm, and they lounge together for what feels like hours and seconds at the same time. Eventually, Luke realizes that Julie’s fallen asleep, so he closes his eyes, too.

Neither sleeping soulmate notices Ray come in around ten PM, shut the music off, and turn out the lights.


End file.
